Jacques Rivette

Directing

Jacques Rivette

Born — Died

1928-03-01 — 2016-01-29

Place of birth

Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France

Known for

Directing

Credits

63 titles

Jacques Rivette (March 1, 1928 - January 29, 2016) was a French film director. With Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette was one of the more experimental of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague) directors. In common with many of his peers, he had a background in film criticism, where he expressed his admiration for popular American cinema, especially genre directors such as Robert Aldrich, Howard Hawks and Frank Tashlin. Rivette's films progress in unconventional ways—often following multiple plots that can be romantic, mysterious, and comic all at once and employing extensive improvisation—and are often extremely long.

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 4 titles

1960s · 8 titles

Paris Belongs to Us poster
6.6

A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.

Paris Belongs to Us

1961

The Lovely Month of May poster
8.0

Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.

The Lovely Month of May

1963

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception poster
NR

In the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception

1967

Jean Renoir, le patron, 2e partie: La direction d'acteur poster
8.3

Second in the documentary trilogy from mastermind Jacques Rivette, featuring a conversation between Jean Renoir and Michel Simon, who celebrate their reunion by discussing, among other things, La Chienne (1931) and Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932).

Jean Renoir, le patron, 2e partie: La direction d'acteur

1967

La Nouvelle Vague par elle-même poster
8.0

Made for Cinéastes de notre temps series. In 1964, several French New Wave auteurs discuss the success and crisis of the wave. Featuring Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rozier, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Jean Rouch, and many others.

La Nouvelle Vague par elle-même

1964

Jean Renoir, le patron, 1re partie: La recherche du relatif poster
9.0

The first of three documentaries by Rivette on Jean Renoir.

Jean Renoir, le patron, 1re partie: La recherche du relatif

1967

No artwork available
NR

Wanderings during the Cannes and Hyères 1966 festivals. Interviews with Louise de Vilmorin, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Louis Comolli, François Truffaut. Lunch on the grass of the Cahiers du cinéma, young onlookers on mopeds, children from the surrounding villages, the film portrays an era, a cinephilia, a cinema still in balance between art and industry.

Festivals 66 Cinéma 67

1967

Jean Renoir parle de son art poster
NR

Three-part interview with French film director Jean Renoir, conducted by French New Wave director Jacques Rivette.

Jean Renoir parle de son art

1961

Series credits

Behind the camera

La Belle Noiseuse poster
7.3

The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.

La Belle Noiseuse

1991

La Belle Noiseuse poster
7.3

The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.

La Belle Noiseuse

1991

Lumière & Company poster
6.4

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Lumière & Company

1995

L'Amour fou poster
6.5

A troubled marriage is tested by the couple's involvement in a theatrical production of Racine’s Andromaque.

L'Amour fou

1969

Céline and Julie Go Boating poster
6.8

Julie, a daydreaming librarian, meets Céline, an enigmatic magician, and together they become the heroines of a time-warping adventure involving a haunted house, psychotropic candy, and a murder-mystery melodrama.

Céline and Julie Go Boating

1974

Paris Belongs to Us poster
6.6

A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.

Paris Belongs to Us

1961

Paris Belongs to Us poster
6.6

A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.

Paris Belongs to Us

1961

The Story of Marie and Julien poster
6.5

Julien is a clockmaker with destructive impulses who decides to blackmail Madame X, a rich, attractive woman who traffics in stolen antiques. What he doesn’t know is that she has an even more dangerous secret that leads him to Marie, with whom he had fallen in love a year earlier.

The Story of Marie and Julien

2003

The Story of Marie and Julien poster
6.5

Julien is a clockmaker with destructive impulses who decides to blackmail Madame X, a rich, attractive woman who traffics in stolen antiques. What he doesn’t know is that she has an even more dangerous secret that leads him to Marie, with whom he had fallen in love a year earlier.

The Story of Marie and Julien

2003

The Duchess of Langeais poster
5.2

At a Spanish cloister, a celebrated French general of the Napoleonic Wars recognizes the voice of one of the nuns and recalls how, five years ago, she was the Duchess of Langeais, and he her most persistent suitor.

The Duchess of Langeais

2007

The Duchess of Langeais poster
5.2

At a Spanish cloister, a celebrated French general of the Napoleonic Wars recognizes the voice of one of the nuns and recalls how, five years ago, she was the Duchess of Langeais, and he her most persistent suitor.

The Duchess of Langeais

2007

The Nun poster
7.1

In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.

The Nun

1967

The Nun poster
7.1

In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.

The Nun

1967

Joan the Maid II: The Prisons poster
7.0

Jeanne has succeeded in lifting the siege of Orléans and Charles has been crowned King of France. However, she is injured in an attempt to take Paris, weakening her position at court. Captured by the enemy and put on trial, she finds both her life and the sanctity of her body at stake.

Joan the Maid II: The Prisons

1994

Wuthering Heights poster
7.0

In 1930s south of France, young orphan Roch is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Lindon, a man of means who befits her stature. Roch vows to win her back.

Wuthering Heights

1985

Wuthering Heights poster
7.0

In 1930s south of France, young orphan Roch is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Lindon, a man of means who befits her stature. Roch vows to win her back.

Wuthering Heights

1985

Secret Defense poster
6.3

After biologist Sylvie discovers her brother Paul trying to steal a gun from her lab, he explains that he wishes to avenge the death of their father whom he suspects died at the hands of his business partner.

Secret Defense

1998

Secret Defense poster
6.3

After biologist Sylvie discovers her brother Paul trying to steal a gun from her lab, he explains that he wishes to avenge the death of their father whom he suspects died at the hands of his business partner.

Secret Defense

1998

Va savoir+ poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Va savoir+

2001

Va savoir+ poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Va savoir+

2001

Gang of Four poster
6.8

Anna, Joyce, Claude, and Cécile are four young actresses sharing a Paris apartment while attending intense acting workshops led by their demanding teacher Constance. As they rehearse scenes and navigate the tensions of living together, their personal lives begin to grow complicated when Joyce becomes involved with a mysterious older man whose presence slowly pulls the others into a web of secrets and suspicions, blurring the boundary between the roles they perform and the lives they're actually living.

Gang of Four

1989

Gang of Four poster
6.8

Anna, Joyce, Claude, and Cécile are four young actresses sharing a Paris apartment while attending intense acting workshops led by their demanding teacher Constance. As they rehearse scenes and navigate the tensions of living together, their personal lives begin to grow complicated when Joyce becomes involved with a mysterious older man whose presence slowly pulls the others into a web of secrets and suspicions, blurring the boundary between the roles they perform and the lives they're actually living.

Gang of Four

1989

Duelle (Une Quarantaine) poster
6.9

Two enigmatic women, both with a hidden but shared motive, separately arrive in Paris. As they navigate the city and their search progresses, various characters become entangled within their conflict, one which increasingly comes to take a fantastical turn. These characters too, driven by their own desires, strive for their own goals in the fight. From a Paris, drenched in an otherworldly ambiance, a tale of desire and power emerges through mystery.

Duelle (Une Quarantaine)

1976

Duelle (Une Quarantaine) poster
6.9

Two enigmatic women, both with a hidden but shared motive, separately arrive in Paris. As they navigate the city and their search progresses, various characters become entangled within their conflict, one which increasingly comes to take a fantastical turn. These characters too, driven by their own desires, strive for their own goals in the fight. From a Paris, drenched in an otherworldly ambiance, a tale of desire and power emerges through mystery.

Duelle (Une Quarantaine)

1976

Around a Small Mountain poster
5.9

Vittorio stops to help Kate when her car breaks down on a mountain road. When they meet again, Vittorio discovers that Kate has rejoined a circus after a long time away. He begins to learn about the troupe's buried past and Kate's connection to it, while experiencing the magic of the circus.

Around a Small Mountain

2009

Around a Small Mountain poster
5.9

Vittorio stops to help Kate when her car breaks down on a mountain road. When they meet again, Vittorio discovers that Kate has rejoined a circus after a long time away. He begins to learn about the troupe's buried past and Kate's connection to it, while experiencing the magic of the circus.

Around a Small Mountain

2009

Love on the Ground poster
5.8

A playwright offers two actress friends the chance to appear in his new, unfinished play, which consists of only one female part.

Love on the Ground

1984

Love on the Ground poster
5.8

A playwright offers two actress friends the chance to appear in his new, unfinished play, which consists of only one female part.

Love on the Ground

1984

Joan the Maid I: The Battles poster
7.0

Convinced only she can lead France to victory against the invading English, Jeanne leaves her childhood home to plead with Charles, heir to the French throne, to allow her to guide his troops on the battlefield.

Joan the Maid I: The Battles

1994

Le quadrille poster
7.0

The film features five actors, two women and three men. According to Rivette, “It ran 40 minutes and nothing happens. It’s just four people sitting around a table, looking at each other. After ten minutes, people started to leave, and at the end, the only ones who stayed were Jean-Luc and a girl.”

Le quadrille

1950

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception poster
NR

In the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception

1967

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception poster
NR

In the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.

Jean Renoir, le patron, 3e partie: La règle et l'exception

1967

Up, Down, Fragile poster
7.2

A librarian, a gangster's ex-lover, and a woman who has recovered from a coma spend an eye-opening summer in Paris.

Up, Down, Fragile

1995

Up, Down, Fragile poster
7.2

A librarian, a gangster's ex-lover, and a woman who has recovered from a coma spend an eye-opening summer in Paris.

Up, Down, Fragile

1995

Fool’s Mate poster
6.6

Claire is a chic young Parisian woman married to a somewhat older husband, Jean. Claire meets her lover, Claude, at his apartment, where he gifts her a fur coat. Now Claire needs to figure out how to return home with this expensive gift without the affair being found out.

Fool’s Mate

1956

Fool’s Mate poster
6.6

Claire is a chic young Parisian woman married to a somewhat older husband, Jean. Claire meets her lover, Claude, at his apartment, where he gifts her a fur coat. Now Claire needs to figure out how to return home with this expensive gift without the affair being found out.

Fool’s Mate

1956

Va Savoir (Who Knows?) poster
6.2

After finding love and success in Italy, French actress Camille returns to Paris, the city she fled three years ago. She secretly dreads confronting her ex-boyfriend Pierre. Her new lover Ugo also has a secret, as he’s meeting with the intriguing Dominique while on his quest for an unpublished manuscript.

Va Savoir (Who Knows?)

2001

Paris s'en va poster
5.6

Before Le Pont du Nord Rivette films Paris s'en va, a short film of approximately 25 minutes. He works with the same actors and the same technical team on both films. Henry Chapier who produced the short: "At the beginning of the '80s nobody was interested in Rivette's highly imaginative project Le Pont du Nord. Therefore Rivette came up with a kind of 'transposition' of the themes of Le Pont du Nord in the shape of Paris s'en va. Just like a painter in the Renaissance who does a sketch for a future project."

Paris s'en va

1981

Paris s'en va poster
5.6

Before Le Pont du Nord Rivette films Paris s'en va, a short film of approximately 25 minutes. He works with the same actors and the same technical team on both films. Henry Chapier who produced the short: "At the beginning of the '80s nobody was interested in Rivette's highly imaginative project Le Pont du Nord. Therefore Rivette came up with a kind of 'transposition' of the themes of Le Pont du Nord in the shape of Paris s'en va. Just like a painter in the Renaissance who does a sketch for a future project."

Paris s'en va

1981

Le Pont du Nord poster
6.8

Marie is just out from prison when she runs into Baptiste, a young paranoid needing companionship. In their pursuit of a mysterious briefcase carried by Marie's former lover, they roam the street of Paris, transformed into a giant board game, a maze spotted with mysterious traps, puzzling clues, and chance encounters. Maybe they are bricks in some sinister scheme, maybe they are playing a board game, maybe it's a fairy tale, maybe it's yet something else...

Le Pont du Nord

1982